Then there’s the Facebook vs. Twitter vs. Foursquare angle. Users of the three social networks exhibit different behavior and different buying frequency. Foursquare users visit Tasti D-Lite more often than Twitter users, who visit more often than Facebook users, Emerson says.

“They’re more mobile, they’re more active,” he says of the stores’ Foursquare users. “We’ve got a year of results. For whatever reasons, it’s pretty clear these location-based mobile customers are out and about more and visiting more often.”

Emerson has also found that Foursquare users are younger and more thrifty than Twitter and Facebook users – meaning they spend less per visit. “The Foursquare people are looking to get a deal. Facebook is going to skew older, and Faceook users spend more than Foursquare users. Twitter is in the middle.”